USA VS JAPAN

Before the 2WW Japan had already began to expand in China in 1937 and in other territories and islands. The Empire of Japan entered WWII on 27th September 1940 by signing the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. The American President Roosevelt was in favour of entering the war because he was convinced that Nazism was a disaster ( = sciagura) for humanity. On the other hand the American public ( = l'opinione pubblica Americana) was against the conflict because American people did not feel involved in a conflict that took place far away from the United States, in Europe. On Sunday morning December 7th, 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy made its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The Pacific fleet ( = flotta) of the U.S. suffered serious losses ( = perdite gravi): 250 planes were destroyed, 5000 American soldiers were killed and wounded ( = morti e feriti). After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked US islands like the Filippines, Guam and Wake Island and British colonies like Borneo, Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. After these victories the Japanese felt confident on their capabilities. The objective ( = obiettivo) was to cripple ( = mutilare, annientare) the U.S. Pacific fleet, capture ( = impadronirsi) the oil fields in the Dutch East Indies and maintain the sphere of influence of China, East Asia and Korea. The U.S. public saw the attack as a 'barbaric act' and rallied against the Empire of Japan. The U.S. entered the European Theatre and the Pacific Theatre ( = è un modo di dire 'quadro europeo' e 'quadro asiatico' che significa la guerra nel Pacifico) in full force. The US entered the conflict on 7th December 1941. On Monday 8th December 1941 President Roosevelt appeared before ( = davanti) the Congress and made his speech ( = discorso) asking for a declaration of war against Japan, calling the previous day '..... a date which will live in infamy' ( = frase famosa ' la giornata dell'infamia). In April 1942 Americans bombed Japan for the first time. In June 1942 Americans attacked Japan by dive bombers ( = aerei da bombardamento) and sank ( = affondarono) three Japanese carriers ( = portaerei) at the Battle of Midway which was the first decisive defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Japanese Navy never managed to reconstruct ( = non riuscì a ricostituire)the large number of carriers and well trained ( = ben addestrati) air groups. In summer 1944 the U.S. Army Air Forces undertook an intense strategic bombing campaign using incendiary bombs, burning Japanese cities to destroy Japan's industry. Despite these attacks ( = nonostante questi attacchi) the Japanese did not surrender. President Roosevelt died in April 1945. The new American President Harry Truman examined the possibility to use a powerful weapon against Japan and compel it to surrender ( = costringerlo alla resa). In August 1945 the U.S dropped nuclear weapon on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These atomic bombings were the first used against another nation in warfare ( = prima volta che si usò la bomba atomica in guerra). These two bombs killed approximately 120.000 to 140.000 people in few minutes and as many ( = altrettanti) as a result of nuclear radiation in the following months and years. On the 2nd September 1945 Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender of the Japanese people.